How Doctor Strange's Cloak Was Inspired By A Different 'Galaxy' Of Characters!

tweet: tomtomchap Warden of the North - bearded, tattooed and square eyed 'til the end

In a world of mouldy-eyed villains, whitewashed women, and two appearances of #BenedictCumberbatch, there was one true shining star of #Marvel's #DoctorStrange. Stephen Strange's Cloak of Levitation "levitated" the attack on the London sanctum from your standard #MCU action scene to comedy gold. Rarely have we seen fabric steal a scene so well — at least, not since the magic carpet from Disney's Aladdin. However, according to Strange's visual effects supervisor Stephane Ceretti, the cape has its Groots in a difference franchise.

It appears that Strange's cloak found its origins in #Marvel's #GuardiansoftheGalaxy, inspired by the furry little rodent Rocket Raccoon, and his wooden compadre, Groot. According to Ceretti, the Cloak of Levitation needed to have its own larger than life personality:

“For most of the cloak shots we used the same company that did Rocket on Guardians...we knew that we wanted the cloak to be a real character. They had done amazing work with Rocket on Guardians so we used them for that. I think it turned out pretty well.”

The cheeky Guardians chappies helped to give the cloak its signature comedy edge.

Dressing Up For The Occasion

Image: Marvel

The bond of man and cape has been written over the past 50 years, after the Cloak of Levitation originally appeared in Strange Tales #114 in 1963. However, with the first version being blue, it wasn't until 1964 that Strange started to wear his synonymous red cloak. Despite starting the 2016 film un-cloaked, it was clear that Strange would soon be getting his hands on the mystical item, with the film written for the mid-way reveal of the cape. Ceretti said there were many long chats on the how they should tackle the sorcerer's infamous wardrobe:

“It was kind of scripted but not as deeply as that...It begins like the story of a horse rider and the horse. The first time they meet they don't know each other, right? The horse is kind of crazy and takes over the horse rider, but as they work together they start to learn each other and work together in the end. It's the same kind of story.”

The cloak certainly added some much needed merriment, a'la Guardians of the Galaxy, and believe it or not the team discussed at great length the cloak's story arc — that's right, cloak lives matter too!

If Strange is going to continue his appearances in the MCU, and with the Guardians building towards crossing into #InfinityWar we could soon soon Cloaky, Rocket, and Groot sharing the screen in all their CGI glory.